Yesterday was a long day. It was Rob's day off and we had planned to continue packing and organizing our storage unit for moving day on the 28th. But one key piece of our moving forward hadn't been communicated to us yet and we had been praying that the news would come on Monday. It did. The appraisal was in! We both breathed a sigh of relief. As we continued reading the email documents which included the written appraisal, we were searching for the final result. Was the house worth what we offered? As we scanned the pages we finally saw it. Appraisal Value $136000. We immediately felt so thankful and thought how close it was, within $500. But it was over so that was good...very good! We don't need to go back to the seller's lender to renegotiate. Things were looking up.
Then we came upon something. Condition of the Appraisal. What's this? I started feeling that seesaw feeling in my stomach. We kept reading. The rear deck is 30" high and needs a railing. We both looked at each other and I said "How are we supposed to build a railing in time? Where will the money come from? Things are looking down. Rob said "Let's pray".
After we prayed, we started making phone calls. We called to confirm it with our agent first. Jen said "Yes. It is a condition that must be met before we close." Okay. Then we called various people, friends and church members. We left lots of messages. Then, I thought about the apartment complex guys, Pat & Clint. They had just completed a retrofit of all our balconies. These guys would know about deck railings. So Rob went off to find them. He found Pat and he said he was busy this week but maybe Clint would be available to help. Later Clint got the request from Pat to come see us and he did. He helped Rob put together a material list of what we would need. But the questions remained we've never built anything like this before. Plus, we don't have the estimated $300 to buy the stuff. So, while Rob was talking to Clint, someone I had called earlier, returned my call.
A very close friend we hadn't seen for awhile, Neal, had received our message and spoke to me about the situation. Neal is a contractor. He agreed to meet with us and look at the rear deck. So we arranged to go and meet Neal at the house. Meanwhile, I was receiving emails from our Lender. The Lender wanted to send us disclosures. Disclosures are required by the TILA (Truth in lending Act). The lenders don't like doing it but it helps us borrowers know what is going on behind the scenes in regards to our loan processing. It makes for alot more paperwork and with more paperwork comes the need for more time to sign the paperwork. So we were under a deadline to sign all these papers yesterday and date them 8/17 so that we could meet the 7 day processing period needed by the lender and escrow people so that we can meet and sign the final papers next Tuesday 8/25. So, while running around trying to figure out how to build a railing for the deck of the house, we are also under a deadline of sorts to get this new batch of lender papers signed and dated yesterday.
Back to Neal...We did meet with Neal at the house and he looked at the rear deck and took some measurements. Then the Lord blessed us through Neal with providing the materials we needed to build this rear deck railing. Rob, Neal & I went to Home Depot and Neal bought all the materials at Home Depot for us. We agreed to pay him back after closing. We are so grateful to God for Neal and his timely help to provide for our need. Thank you Neal.
So, when we returned to the house with the materials, we met J.D. our seller at the door. He had just received word from his agent about the condition of the appraisal. He was worried that he would have to pay for it and he, like us had no additional funds to do this. But I gave him the good news that we had a benefactor in Neal who is supplying us with credit til after closing so we can get to work on building the railing. J.D. was so relieved. He wanted to help and said he could get started right away. I explained the need for us to get it finished, by code, before the Appraiser leaves for his weekend on Friday. J.D. was willing and had built the deck originally so he had knowledge of what to do. Everything was looking up again...We are working as a team...We can do this!!!!
As you can see, there were ups and downs in our day yesterday, like riding a seesaw for a few hours, but the day ended on the upside. We got the papers printed and signed and dated for the Lender, we secured the materials needed for the railing, we built a team...J.D, Rob & I, to build it, and most importantly, we have our Captain overseeing it all, providing for our needs before we even know what we need. Thank you Lord for always being faithful and giving us what we need to endure the journey... ups and downs and all! SDG LN
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